Kuwait and Sinopec to sign USD 9 bln China refinery deal

(Trend) -- State-run Kuwait Petroleum Corp (KPC) has signed a joint venture deal worth around USD 9 bln to build an oil refinery and petrochemical plant in southern China, Al Arabiya reported according to Reuters. KPC and Sinopec, China's biggest refiner, are equal partners in the project, Kuwait's state news agency said on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, China approved the USD 9 bln joint venture, which will be built in the southern coastal city of Zhanjiang. The project will secure Kuwait, the world's fourth-largest crude exporter, a solid outlet for its oil, ahead of competitors such as Venezuela, Russia and Qatar, all of which are planning refineries in China.

MRC

(ICIS) -- US-based producers Dow Chemical and DuPont have shut down two facilities in Japan, although their other plants are still operating, the companies said on Tuesday. A 9.0-magnitude earthquake hit the country on Friday, knocking out several petrochemical plants.

DuPont's research and manufacturing facility in Utsunomiya was damaged, and it would remain closed until the company finishes assessing it. The company was reviewing the operations at its 15 joint ventures in the nation, it said.

DuPont's remaining sites in Japan were operating, it said. Also, all of its employees and their immediate family were safe. Dow Chemical said its Soma site was closed after being flooded during the tsunami that followed the earthquake. The Soma site produces ion-exchange resins. Dow would review the damage to the site as soon as possible, it said. Dow's other sites in Japan are operational, the company said.

On Monday, US specialty chemicals producer Solutia said that it had temporarily suspended operations at the company's facility in Kashima, which lost power. No damage was reported at Solutia's manufacturing facility, and the company confirmed the safety of all employees and their families in the region over the weekend.

MRC

(ICIS) -- Japan is seeking prompt supplies of fuel to run its power plants and plug a severe domestic shortfall, after about 22% of its refining capacity was shut down in the aftermath of the 11 March earthquake, market sources said on Wednesday.

Japan was seeking 10 parts per million (ppm) of diesel, gasoline, fuel oil, low-sulphur waxy residual products, traders said, but details on the volumes sought were not immediately available.

Five refineries, with a combined capacity of about 999.000 bbl/day, were forced to shut down following the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country's northeast on 11 March. These included JX Nippon Oil and Energy's refineries in Sendai, Kashima and Negishi, as well as refineries of Cosmo Oil and Kyokuto Petroleum in Chiba.

About a third of Japan's energy comes from nuclear power, 20% from liquefied natural gas (LNG) and the remainder largely from oil products, with a small amount from renewable energy, market sources said.

MRC

(Sud-Chemie) -- In the case of profit from operations (EBIT), adjusted for non-recurring items, Sud-Chemie exceeded the Group target of EUR 100.5 mln previously forecast for 2010. Based on the consolidated financial statements for 2010, for which an auditors certificate has already been issued, the operating EBIT amounts to EUR 106.8 mln, following adjustment for non-recurring items.

Sud-Chemie is a publicly quoted specialty chemicals company headquartered in Munich, Germany and operating on a worldwide scale. The common denominator of all Sud-Chemie products and services is the efficient and sparing use of natural resources to enhance the quality of life for humans and the environment. Products manufactured by the Catalysts Division offer solutions for the chemical, petrochemical and refinery industries, for energy storage and hydrogen production, as well as off-gas purification.

MRC

(British Plastics Federation) -- The BPF (British Plastics Federation) coordinated Seven Association Alliance has written a hard-hitting letter to the Chancellor, George Osbourne, highlighting a myriad of issues currently placing the UK Manufacturing industry at an economic disadvantage and putting forward proposals to the Chancellor of the Exchequer ahead of the forthcoming Budget on 23rd March 2011.

According to industry, high taxation and burdensome regulations have placed the UK at a competitive disadvantage and created a barrier to inward investment. Results from surveys with member firms indicate that a majority of companies predict an increase in UK sales turnover this year. However the volume increase is about a third less due to the need for companies to pass through raw material prices increases.

The Alliance pointed out that another barrier to rapid industrial recovery and competiveness of the manufacturing industry is the high level of fuel duty; the UK has the highest diesel fuel duty in the EU and the price increase to 5p a litre in April would present another block on our competiveness. They strongly urged the Chancellor to cancel the April duty increase.

MRC